Free! Hetalia Swim Club
by SpaceTime Gaga
Summary: 'I only swim free.' When swimmer Lukas Bondevik meets Emil Steilsson, a childhood friends of his in a swimming pool, his love and passion for swimming is rekindled. To quench his thirst, he and his friends start a swimming club to rival Emil's - and from there, is what we call history. [Hetalia Free!AU.]


_The water is alive. Even at times when the water's surface stretches out in silence, when not even faint ripples can be seen, it is just holding its breath, as if waiting for its prey. And, if you were to jump in, with a momentary spray of droplets, it will instantly bare its fangs and attack. It will wrap itself around your body, trying to steal the freedom from your limbs. The more you struggle, the more heavily and persistently it will coil itself, and before long, all your strength will be exhausted._

 _However, if you adjust your position without struggling, the water will become calm. From there, push your fingertips to the space at the water's surface and create an opening, then slowly slide your body forward - your arms, your head, your chest, your stomach, and your legs._

 _Do not reject the water, accept it. Do not deny the water, acknowledge its existence. The important thing is to take in the water; to feel it with your skin, your eyes, your soul. Not doubting the things that you feel. Believing in yourself._

Lukas lifted his head out of the water. Not at all tired from his swimming, he glanced up to see a spiky-haired boy on poolside extending his arm to him.

'Nobody can beat you when you're in the water, Noru-chan.' said Mathias Kohler, the boy, smiling.

'Just like a dolphin,' cried a small, blond boy, standing nearby. 'That was so amazing, Bondevik-kun! I want to swim like you!' beamed the boy with admiration, his eyes sparkling.

Lukas sighed. 'I think it's time you stopped calling me -chan,' he said irritably. But he wasn't mad. Not really. He allowed himself to get pulled out of the water, but not before he saw another boy in the pool.

'Who's that?' asked Tino Vainamoinen, the smaller boy, to Mathias, pointing at the other, silver-haired boy.

'Oh, that's Emil Steilsson,' said Mathias. 'He transferred to our school last week.'

The silver-haired boy surfaced, looking at Lukas.

'You're as fast as the rumours said,' said Emil, smiling. 'What was your time?'

Lukas looked to the side disinterestedly. 'I don't care about my time,' he said.

Emil looked in shock at Lukas for a minute, but then he burst out in laughter.

'That's just like the rumours said, as well,' he said.

Emil got out of the pool.

'Hey, Bondevik,' he said, looking at Lukas, 'You interested in joining me in a relay at the next tournament?'

After a moment of pause, Lukas said, looking away, 'I only do freestyle.'

 _That's right, I don't care about swimming faster times. All I want is to feel the water._

 _With my skin, my eyes, my soul...to never doubt what it makes me feel._

 _Believe in myself._

 _Don't resist the water. Welcome it. We accept one another._

 _Yeah. There was some funky stuff going through my head back then._

 _There's an old saying my late grandma taught me._

' _When you're ten, they call you a prodigy._

 _When you're fifteen, they call you a genius._

 _Once you hit twenty, you're just an ordinary person.'_

 _About three years until I'm ordinary._

With that, Lukas sank back in the water in the bath-tub.

 _Man...I can't wait to be ordinary._

'Good morning, Tamura-san!' said Mathias happily, walking out of his house.

'Good morning, Mathias-chan!' greeted Tamura, an elderly lady who lived on Mathias' street. 'Here, take this with you.'

Mathias blushed. 'Oh, thanks!' he said gratefully. 'See you around!'

'Take care now.'

Mathias leaped up the steps at the end of his street quickly for the first stop in his daily routine.

About halfway up the steps, he saw the white cat.

'Good morning,' he said softly, stroking the cat. This had also become part of his routine up the steps.

He stopped at a two-storey house at the very top. He rang the doorbell.

There was no answer. Mathias sighed exasperatedly.

'Oh, come on...'

He ran to the back entrance where he entered without any hesitation.

'Excuse me!' he called.

He entered the bathroom, where, unsurprisingly, he found a pile of clothes in the basket.

Naturally, he's here, Mathias thought.

'I'm coming in,' he said, opening the door to the bath.

Lukas burst out of the water with a splash. Shaking his hair dry, he looked up to see the spiky-haired boy extending his arm to him.

'Good morning, Noru-chan,' he said, smiling.

Lukas was silent for a moment.

'I told you to lay off the -chan,' he said in a monotone. But he wasn't mad. Not really. He allowed himself to get pulled out of the bath-tub for the nth time.

Mathias pointed dejectedly at Lukas.

'You were in the bath with your swimsuit on again?' he said, trying not to face-palm.

'Buzz off,' muttered Lukas. 'You're gonna be late.'

'That's my line,' mumbled Mathias, furrowing his brows, as Lukas walked out of the bathroom.

'Wait, why are you grilling cod?' asked Mathias, panicking, as Lukas stood in front of the stove.

'I haven't had breakfast,' said Lukas matter-of-factly, poker-faced as usual.

'And you're wearing an apron over a swimsuit. Aren't you cold?'

'I don't want to get oil on my swimsuit.'

The toast popped out of the toaster.

'Toast and cod?' said Mathias confusedly.

'Why did you come get me?' said Lukas, as they walked

'You didn't show up for the opening assembly yesterday.'

'I called in sick.' said Lukas, looking ahead.

'Do you know which class you're in then?'

Silence.

'We're in the same class again. Class 1. We've got a new lady as our homeroom teacher. They already gave her a nickname.' he laughed. 'She teaches classical literature-

But Lukas wasn't listening anymore. '-but she's a little on the odd side...'

 _It needs to get warmer so I can swim in the ocean._

Mathias glanced at Lukas' face.

'I hope it gets warmer soon so you can swim.' said Mathias.

Lukas raised his eyebrows at Mathias and looked away again. Mathias smiled.

'Mr Ludwig Beilschmidt.'

'Hai.'

'Mr Eduard von Bock.'

'Hai.'

'Em...Mr Lukas Bondevik.'

'Here.'

'You were absent yesterday, right?'

When Lukas didn't respond, she continued. 'I'm Irunya Chernenko, your new homeroom teacher. Nice to meet you.'

'I heard Miss Chernenko is from this area. She went to a college in London and and found a job there, but she came back after her dream fell through.'

'What was her dream?'

'Beats me. Maybe she wanted to go into music?'

Lukas sat in his seat by the window, staring outside in a melancholy way.

 _We're supposed to be learning from a woman who became a teacher as plan B?_

Lukas sighed.

 _I want to go home._

'So, lunch,' said Mathias, fishing out his bento. 'Wanna eat on the roof?'

 _He needs to get a clue._

'Eli, what are you doing? Hurry up!' Lili Zwingli called to her friend Elisabet Steilsson.

'Hold on!' shouted Elisabet, struggling to catch up but was bowled out of the way by a sprinting blond boy.

Elisabet stopped and looked back at the boy and his familiar face.

'I didn't bring lunch,' said Lukas, as he and Mathias walked down the stairs.

'Go buy something, then? Or do you want some of this?'

'Squid.'

'Noru-chan! Ta-chan!' cried an excited voice from the level below.

The pair looked down to see an excitable blond boy bouncing on his feet, waving.

'It's been forever! I'll be joining you here at Gakuen Hetalia!'

'Ta-chan?' repeated Mathias in wonderment.

'Noru-chan?' repeated Lukas.

Then, their eyes both widened and gasped.

'TINO?!'

'How many years has it been? I don't think I saw you after the swimming club was shut down.' said Mathias as they sat on the roof.

'Yep, because I went to a different school.' replied Tino. 'Oh, there are cherry blossoms next to the pool! Weren't there cherry blossoms next to the pool at your grade school, Noru-chan?'

'Can you stop calling me that?'

'But that's your name, Noru-chan.'

'But that pool is old and not in use.' said Mathias. 'There's no swim club either.'

'Where do you swim then?' asked Tino in puzzlement.

'I quit swimming competitively.' said Lukas.

'What?! Why d'you quit? I was getting all excited about getting to swim with you again in high school! ' cried Tino.

'We're not little kids anymore. Things aren't the way they used to be.' replied Lukas.

'Noru-chan...'

'Well, he quit swimming competitively, but he still loves water. Lukas can't live without water. During the summer, he swims in the ocean, and he was soaking in the bath this morning.' said Mathias.

'What does that have to do with swimming? That means he likes baths.' said Tino. Then, he suddenly gasped.

'I know! How about a hot springs club? Let's start a hot springs club!' cried Tino, grabbing Lukas and shaking him back and forth.

'I can't stand the heat.' Lukas stated simply.

'Don't be like that!' whined Tino.

'No!'

'Okay, then...'

'I refuse.'

'I didn't say anything yet.'

 _Tino hasn't changed one bit,_ thought Mathias.

Mathias looked over to see two girls sitting on the other side of the roof, one with brown hair and one with blond.

'Aw, I should've gotten the same thing you did.' said the blond girl sadly.

The brunette turned around and stared intensely at Mathias. He frowned.

'Hey, have you heard? The swimming club we went to in grade school is gonna get closed down soon.' said Tino, skipping down the stairs from the rooftop as the other two walked. Lukas' eyes widened.

'So, can we pay it a visit?'

'To dig that up?' asked Mathias.

'Exactly! We can sneak in at night,' said Tino mysteriously, raising his arms up and forming them into two claws.

'You can go by yourself.' said Lukas briskly, walking down the stairs quickly.

'Don't say that!' said Tino hastily, jumping in front of Lukas and waving his arms around, 'Come with us, Noru-chan!'

'I'm not going,' said Lukas stubbornly, looking away. Mathias walked downstairs too.

'Don't you think it will be fun?' Tino pleaded, tugging on Lukas' sleeve.

'I don't.'

'Why don't you just humour him?' said Mathias, laughing.

'No, too much effort.' said Lukas, still resolutely and stubbornly refusing.

'But there's a pool there.' said Mathias, putting on a mock thinking face. Lukas' eyebrows twitched. 'A pool is much larger than a bath-tub.' he continued, smirking.

Lukas turned around.

'Wow, you live by yourself, Noru-chan?' wondered Tino, as he, Mathias and Lukas stood in Lukas' house.

'His mum went with his dad when he had to move because of work,' supplied Mathias helpfully, holding up a shovel.

'Lukas, cod again?!' complained Mathias, eyeing the fish in the pan.

'Nobody's forcing you to eat it,' said Lukas irritably.

On the other hand, Tino had a very different point of view.

'Looks delicious! Noru-chan was always a good cook.'

But the atmosphere changed quickly.

'Are you sure about doing this?' said Mathias, quietly.

'Weren't you all for it earlier? Are you getting scared? ' replied Tino.

'It's not that. Is it okay for the three of us to just dig it up?'

'Can't do anything about that. Emil-chan isn't in Japan anymore.'

 _Lukas stood in front of the low wall in Hetalia Grade School. All over the wall, on each of the bricks, students had scribbled personal messages: peace, free, I swim, for the team, love..._

' _I won't be going to middle school here,' said Emil, looking up at the sky._

 _Lukas' eyes widened. Both he and Mathias turned to look at Emil, who was standing in between them._

' _Huh? What do you mean, Emil?' asked Mathias quickly._

' _I'm going to Australia,' said Emil, easily, seeming to enjoy all the attention and he stood with his arms folded behind his back._

' _You mean you're going to a different country?' asked Mathias with disbelief._

' _Yep, I'm going to a swimming school.'_

 _Lukas grimaced and bared his teeth, looking down at 'For the team', scribbled on one of the bricks._

' _What are you trying to do?' muttered Lukas, barely audible._

' _I'm going to become an Olympic swimmer,' beamed Emil confidently._

 _Lukas looked down dejectedly and narrowed his eyes._

' _Why didn't you tell us!' cried Mathias, upset. 'What about the relay?'_

' _I'll swim in the relay,' said Emil with a hint of disdain. 'I'm leaving the day after the tournament. So this will be the last time the four of us swim together.'_

 _Mathias' blue eyes sparkled. He looked at Lukas sadly._

' _I only swim freestyle,' said Lukas, not looking at anyone._

' _That's why you have to swim in the relay,' said Emil, forming his small hands into a fist, 'This is our last chance.'_

' _Let's swim together, Bondevik!' proclaimed Emil, loudly, all traces of childishness gone, as the two stood under the sakura tree._

' _If you swim with me...' Lukas looked to the side, at Emil._

' _I'll show you a sight you've never seen before.'_

'This place is pretty trashed,' said Mathias.

Meanwhile, Tino was fishing something out of his pocket.

'Here, just in case,' he said, as he held out in his palms a white, powdery substance. 'Purifying salt.'

'Salt?' repeated Mathias.

'They say the place is haunted,' said Tino, looking back at World Hetalia Swim Club.

'Don't scare me,' Mathias laughed awkwardly.

'I'm not lying,' shouted Tino forcefully. 'People have been seeing shadows moving around and hearing sobbing voices.'

Mathias' face contracted painfully as his eyes twitched in an unmistakable scared smile.

'Stay still!' cried Tino suddenly, leaping around Mathias and spraying 'salt' all over him, while Mathias himself stood trembling.

'Okay, you're next, Noru-chan!' Tino proceeded to spray salt on Lukas.

Lukas just stood unflinching.

Suddenly, his eyes widened and he looked in surprise at the substance in his hand. Something was a bit off.

'This isn't salt, it's sugar,' said Lukas, licking his finger experimentally.

Tino tried not to look guilty.

Mathias was just plain annoyed.

'Well, it's all mental anyway,' said Tino carelessly as the trio walked down the dark, empty halls of Hetalia Swim Club. 'Sugar will get the job done.'

Lukas looked to the side, a habit of his.

'Cliche as hell.'

As they walked, a can went rolling down the hallway, producing a large CLANG! and startling the trio.

'What?!' Mathias asked.

Tino turned around. 'Heh, my foot hit the can,' he said awkwardly and scratching the back of his head.

Mathias' face darkened. 'You're just doing this on purpose, aren't you?' he asked Tino.

'You were always afraid of the dark.'

'YOU'RE NOT HELPING!'

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the three, a person was standing just at the corner of the corridor.

'Sorry!' squeaked Tino.

'Oh, this brings such memories,' said Tino, as the three of them strode into the changing room. The side of the lockers were initially bright, but passing time had reduced its colours to faded shadows of its previous colourful glory.

'It's not as trashed as I thought it would be,' remarked Mathias.

As they walked into the lounge, Tino bouncing in front of them as usual, they heard him exclaim excitedly, 'Lookie, lookie!'

Mathias and Lukas hurried over.

'Look,' breathed Tino, bending down and pointing at a picture mounted on the wall.

In a small, wooden frame, was a picture of four boys, around 10 or 11 years old, standing on poolside. The shortest one, Tino, had raised their arms in obvious exhilaration, the silver-haired Emil and blonde Lukas were enveloped in a hug and the other, spiky-haired Mathias, made a 'V' sign to the camera and each one was wearing a shiny gold medal around their necks.

'This is the picture from when we won the relay,' he continued.

Lukas looked at the silver-haired boy in the picture, almost as if though he were remembering that relay, all those years ago...

 _Young Lukas stood behind the starting blocks, surrounded by rows and rows of spectators-anxious parents, excited siblings, passionate coaches._

 _In the water, Emil brought his arms forward in perfect sync, diving into the water ever so gracefully._

' _I'll show you a sight you've never seen before,' he could remember the boy saying._

 _Lukas sighed, making up his mind. He closed his eyes, allowing the last of his anxiety to fade away, before reaching up to pull his goggles over his eyes._

 _As Emil gave one final heave to bring his arms onto the board, he looked up to see Lukas dive, far, far above his head, his body so perfectly streamlined as if though he were flying. His ethereal movements could not be real, only dreams._

 _Lukas brought his body down with effortless ease, his fingers brushing the water before allowing his body to sink under. He was a smooth missile, not a swimmer._

 _The water flowed around him and Lukas brushed it back. The waves coursed through the pool and pushed against him, but this did not deter Lukas. He could never doubt the feeling he had when he was in contact with water, so simple and so abundant, yet so mysterious and enticing. He rocketed forward, to the end, to victory._

 _The shiny, bluish trophy lay in a bronze box in a hole, and all four members of the victorious Hetalia Swim Club relay team looked at it._

' _We won this together, the four of us,' said Rin, 'so it's not right for one of us to take it home. We should put it in a time capsule so we can find it when we're older.' With that, he shut the lid on the box._

' _Romantic, right?' he asked Lukas, flashing him a smile, displaying his row of neat white teeth._

 _Lukas' eyes widened, then he looked away._

' _Lukas!' someone was calling._

'Lukas!' Mathias said, louder, shaking Lukas out of his reverie.

'Lukas, let's go.'

'Yeah.' Lukas agreed.

The three of them proceeded down the hallway. However, at a T-crossroad, Mathias pulled Lukas' sleeve to get his attention with a small gasp, and looked towards the right.

A shadowed figure, wearing a jacket and a cap, was standing near the end of the corridor. The figure came closer and closer. Lukas narrowed his eyes.

The figure raised his eyes, revealing startlingly purple orbs. He walked into the light.

'Yo,' said the figure.

Tino had rejoined Mathias and Lukas. 'Who is it?' he turned Lukas.

'I can't tell!' whisper-yelled Mathias.

'I didn't think I'd see you guys here,' said the figure, and reached behind his head, to pull the strap of his cap backwards then letting go, letting it flop forwards again. At this, both Mathias and Tino's jaws dropped.

 _A boy crouched on the starting block and pulled his goggle strap back, and then let go, letting the strap rebound back with a loud slap._

 _A silver-haired boy leaned on the lane rope, smiling up at them._

'Emil(-chan)!' cried Mathias and Tino.

The figure in front of them finally revealed himself. The silver-haired teenager stood in front of them, raising one eyebrow.

Tino was the first to recover. He dashed to Emil and grabbed both his hands. 'You're back from Australia!' he exclaimed giddily, but Emil stood poker-straight.

'What are you doing here, though?' inquired Mathias, taking a step forwards.

'This must be fate!' cried Tino, holding onto to one of Emil's hands and looking back at Mathias.

Emil's expression had still not changed, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

'Some unseen force brought the four of us back here at the exact-'

'Lukas. You're still hanging around these guys?' asked Emil, lowing his head and looking straight at Lukas, who had not contributed to the exchange in front of him yet. He laughed, not a tinkling, bright laugh like his youthful self, but a sharp, cynical one.

'You never learn.'

'Emil, what are you talking about?' said Mathias, angrily.

Lukas had finally spoken. 'And what about you?' he said. 'Have you learned anything?'

'I'm glad you asked,' smirked Emil, leaning his head back on his hands. 'Why don't I show you?'

'Let's race, Lukas,' said Emil, as he walked off with purpose-towards the pool.

Lukas walked briskly after him without a word.

'Lukas!' cried Mathias after him.

'Did they just ditch us?' asked Tino with disbelief.

'Looks like it.'

Tino and Mathias shared a knowing glance between them before dashing off after them.

'Wait!'

 **And that's it, guys. Remember, I don't own Hetalia or Free!. Rights go to their respective owners. I don't even own this story, it's basically the Free! plotline with Hetalia characters.**

 **This stemmed from a fanart of a Nordic/Free crossover I saw, and I felt I just had to write this!**

 **Read, review, follow, favourite! I'm open to all feedback, including constructive criticism. I am working on a regular fanfic as well, but I don't know if it's worthy of publication or if it is still in its initial stages of progress.**

 **Since I don't own this, I can probably update often. This chapter is quite long, so Part 2 will be shorter.**

 **See you next time, guys!**

 **K.**


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